During the Vietnam War-on Aug. 30, 1966-Rumsfeld told his House colleagues that it "is beyond me" why the huge contract awarded to Brown and Root of Houston and other U.S. firms to build air fields and other facilities in South Vietnam "has not been and is not now being adequately audited. The potential for waste and profiteering under such a contract is substantial."

This is important, of course, because the Pentagon awards a great number of no-bid contracts these days, many to Halliburton. Worse, the Pentagon's oversight of military contracts "has been eviscerated."

recently, secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld handed the management and oversight of the "Star Wars" missile defense system to the contractors who are building the system. "The Pentagon has created a system where contractors are evaluating themselves and then making recommendations on how much more money they need," says Senator Jack Reed (D-R.L), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It is an absurd arrangement."

I wonder if the Dems could use the old Rumsfeld quote in a campaign commercial?